SubscribeAs I mentioned in an earlier post, I saw the concept of choice play out through the eyes of a toddler — Loosh, my 17-month-old son. Watching him figure out how to have all that he had stuffed into his hands and still grab something new that he wanted even more, was watching conscious choice in action.
When I found myself sick last week with my second cold in the past few weeks, I knew I had some choices to make, so I looked to Loosh as my example. Even though I wasn’t flat-out, shriveled-up-in-bed sick, I wanted to take some steps to avoid getting there.
For weeks my days and nights have been really full. I’ve been engaged in some really fun and interesting work and classes and have been making progress on some really big projects. And, new opportunities have been coming my way. But, I realized that in order to get healthy and do more, I had to let go of some things.
I started by looking at my calendar to see what could be rescheduled, post-poned or canceled. Last week I canceled two meetings and rescheduled an all-day class so that I could slow the pace a bit. I put off grocery shopping until the weekend, when family would be in town. I’d be able to use that shopping time to focus on my projects and go grocery shopping while the kids were engaged with Dad and Granddad. And, rather than stressing about when we were going to clean up the house before family arrived on Friday, I arranged to have the house cleaned.
The wonderful thing about living in choice, is that it’s empowering. With each choice I made about how to spend my time, I felt more energized about making the next choice, and the next. Because I was no longer stressed about how to fit it all in before the weekend while feeling under the weather, I was able to slow down, figure out where my attention was most needed, and focus my energy there. It was a reminder of how all of the stuff that I need to do, and need to do immediately, really doesn’t have to be done by me specifically, and it doesn’t have to be done today, this week, or maybe ever.
My cold is almost completely gone, and so is the pressure of doing it all, myself, today!
Work-life balance is not something to be achieved. It changes as life changes. What’s working today may or may not work next week. Staying flexible, adaptable and creative about how you address work-life challenges is key, as is living in choice!
Have you had to reevaluate and make some tough choices recently? How did you handle it? What was the impact?
Tags: living in choice, Productivity, Time Management, work-life balance
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